'The Ugly One Will Do,' the Duke Said Coldly — Then She Lowered Her Hood and the Court Went Silent

'The Ugly One Will Do,' the Duke Said Coldly — Then She Lowered Her Hood and the Court Went Silent On court day at Rosridge Hall, with half of Essex watching, a cold Duke who must marry before the new year looks past two pretty sisters and points to the girl hidden under a grey hood. Her stepmother calls her poor scarred Annabel, spoiled by fever and kept out of sight for six years. "The ugly one will do," the Duke says. Then Annabel lowers her hood, and the whole court goes silent. Francis, Duke of Rosridge, was made a laughingstock by his first bride and wants a wife no one will envy and no one will steal. Instead he gets a clever, kind woman who sees every wrong number in his ledgers and every crack in his heart. But Annabel's stepmother has been hiding more than a face, and the Duke's own cousin is waiting for his marriage to fail. When lies arrive in his wife's handwriting, will the proud Duke trust his heart or his old fear? duke romance, regency romance, historical romance audiobook, clean historical romance, duke and duchess romance, regency England romance, historical romance for women, romantic audio drama, slow burn regency romance, hidden heroine romance, cruel stepmother story, duke chooses the overlooked girl, marriage of convenience romance, Essex regency romance, wicked cousin villain, sacred romance saga, cold duke romance, hooded bride story